Focus and Methodology

Why should I subscribe to your research?

By combining our own extensive industry experience with rigorous financial and quantitative analysis along with access to top executives at nearly every major travel company, we create comprehensive research reports that drill deeply into companies and trends shaping the future of travel. We use tools such as financial and economic analysis and proprietary survey data to support our qualitative observations and forecasts for the industry. We are intellectually honest and transparent with our assumptions.

Our subscribers come from within the travel ecosystem and include executives, marketers, strategists, technologists, and sales professionals from online distributors, hospitality companies, airlines, cruises, destination marketing organizations, tours and activities companies, technology providers, and others. We also have many investors (both public and private equity/venture capital) and investment banks/equity research providers subscribing to our research.

In addition to our written reports, subscribers receive exclusive discounts to attend our events, an opportunity to schedule individual calls and meetings with our analysts, and early access to the Skift.com editorial section.

Who conducts your research and who writes your reports?

Our reports are researched and written by our in-house team of seasoned analysts. We have carefully built our research team where we play off each other’s strengths. Our backgrounds are diverse ranging from decades of experience in research program management, market sizing and forecasting, economics, tech and consumer trends, financial and strategic analysis. Our coverage is also global with our headquarters in New York City and analysts in Europe and Asia. An example of the teamwork involved in our research was the groundbreaking 2017 Outlook on Hotel Direct Booking Report, where we combined industry expertise, access to over 30 executives, a survey of 370 hotels, and financial and data analysis to evaluate the state of distribution. We also team up with a select group of contributors with particular domain expertise from various sectors of travel. Between 200 to 400 hours of research, analysis and writing goes into each report. We are actively adding to our research team with a focus on building a cohesive unit rather than using the siloed approach many firms often utilize.

What topics will you be covering next?

So far, 2019 has been a foundation-building year for Skift Research. As discussed in our 2019 Research Overview, our goal is to systematically map out the inner mechanics of the travel industry. Our “state of” and “deep-dive” reports have focused on exposing the bedrock of the travel industry, with overtones into big picture trends and consumer research. Going forward, we will continue to innovate and grow with the industry. We do this by revisiting our publication schedule on a quarterly basis, to match the trends and needs of our subscribers. In 2019, we’ll continue to expand our coverage into Airlines and Cruise sectors.

During the remainder of 2019, we will round out our bedrock report series delivering more company deep dives and big landscape reports. Some topics on the schedule include our capstone report on online travel via the Priceline Group, the state of meetings and events, emerging outbound markets, the state of packaged travel, and venture capital trends in travel.

We will continue building out complex models, so that we can make better projections and forecasts on company and sector performance and growth, particularly for the big online groups and hospitality companies. We will invest in more partnerships with web data providers and will continue to field more benchmark surveys. For instance, this will be our third year fielding our US Affluent Traveler Survey aimed at taking a psychometric read on the luxury consumer experiment.

What format are these reports available in?

They are available as an HTML5 online report, behind a login paywall. The report has a responsive design, so that you as a subscriber can read it on your desktop, laptop, tablet or any mobile device, for ease of reading across multiple devices you may be using.

Please download our Skift Mobile App for on-the-go reading.

How often do Skift Research Reports get published?

We publish 3-4 new Skift Research Reports each month in various formats, including long form deep dive reports, survey results, and more. They typically come out on the second or fourth Tuesday of the month.

Can I see a sample report(s) to understand the value and quality of the reports?

Yes, email us at research@skift.com for one free archival report published earlier than January 2018.